On July 6, 2021 McEwen Mining announced the creation of the wholly-owned subsidiary, McEwen Copper Inc., which holds 100% interests in the Los Azules project in Argentina and in the Elder Creek exploration property in Nevada. Both assets are subject to a 1.25% net smelter return (NSR) royalty payable to McEwen Mining.
McEwen Copper started with 17.5 million shares outstanding held by McEwen Mining. An S$82 million private placement financing at $10 per share was completed in August 2022, including investments of $40 million from Rob McEwen and $25 million from Nuton, a Rio Tinto venture. In February 2023, McEwen Copper had further investments at approx. $19 per share, of $30 million by Nuton and $155 million (official FX equivalent of ARS $30 B) by Stellantis, world’s 4th largest automaker. In October 2023 these investments in McEwen Copper were further augmented, with $10 million by Nuton and $120 million (official FX equivalent of ARS $42 B) by Stellantis, at approx. $26 per share.
McEwen Copper entered a collaboration agreement with Nuton to evaluate the potential application of heap leaching at Los Azules, involving the testing of Nuton® Technologies for compatibility with Los Azules copper mineralization. Heap leaching offers numerous promising economic and environmental benefits over the conventional milling methods, which include reduced water and energy consumption, elimination of large tailings storage facilities or dams, and typically lower capital and operational costs.
Together with Stellantis, McEwen Copper have committed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2038. They have also entered a Copper Cathodes and Concentrates Purchase Rights Agreement (CCCPRA) under which Stellantis and its affiliates have the option to purchase a portion of the copper cathodes or concentrates produced from Los Azules, proportionate to their equity ownership percentage in McEwen Copper.
In 2022 we have resolved the critical issue of road access to Los Azules by the development of a lower altitude access road that provides us with the opportunity for year-round work at the site. The diagram below illustrates the important elevation difference between our exploration road (shown in blue) that allows a 5 to 6-month access to site and our new access road (shown in orange) that, in combination, will provide 12-month access. Having two roads into Los Azules represents an important development for the project, making it safer, less expensive and faster to advance and complete our fieldwork.
The first season of the 2022 surface drilling at Los Azules took place from January to late May, with 54 holes drilled using 11 rigs, for a total of 13,500 meters. The second drilling season, from October 2022 to June 2023, completed 138 holes using 15 drill rigs, for a total of 39,900 meters, bringing the Los Azules drill hole database to 126,000 meters and marking the largest drilling campaign in the history of Los Azules and one of the largest in Argentina.
Primary objectives of the drilling programs include:
- Improving the confidence in the resource by converting Inferred mineral resources to the Indicated category
- Accelerating project advancement with metallurgical, hydrological and geotechnical drilling and
- Testing the limits of the depth extension of the higher-grade mineralization.
Results from the recent drilling programs can be seen in our Los Azules progress reports press releases from 2022, dated
May 4,
June 23 and
August 4,
and from 2023, dated
January 26,
March 6,
April 5,
May 5,
July 12 and
August 1.
The 2023-2024 drilling program is slated at 45,000 meters. Future drilling will continue to evaluate the potential to expand the deposit along strike and at depth. While the median depth of drill holes within the Los Azules resource database is 175 meters (575 feet), it is not uncommon for porphyry copper mineralization to extend well beyond 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) of depth. Numerous drill holes at Los Azules have encountered strong copper grades below the 2023 PEA pit bottom. All three holes drilled to a depth of over one kilometer are ending in copper mineralization.
McEwen Copper has built an experienced management team that facilitated the filing in April 2023 of the Environmental Impact Assessment for Construction and Exploitation to the San Juan regulator and the successful completion in June 2023 of the updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for Los Azules. Our team continues to commit to growth and advancement as we move forward with a Feasibility Study for early 2025.
For further information on McEwen Copper, the latest company presentation can be accessed
here.